Safety helmet and headband therefor



Oct. 26, 1965 J. MARCHELLO 3,213,463

SAFETY HELMET AND HEADBAND THEREFOR Filed Feb. 19, 1964 L I km. E

TEE=4= ,NVENTOR JOHN L. MARCHELLO BY (3m ww 2% 9m ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,213,463 SAFETY HELMET AND HEADBAND THEREFOR John L. Marchello, Ann Arbor, Micln, assignor to Joseph Bnegeleisen Co., Sonthfield, Mich. Filed Feb. 19, 1964, Ser. No. 346,037 4 Claims. (Cl. 23)

This invention relates to a safety helmet and more particularly to a safety helmet having a removable and replaceable headband.

Safety helmet headbands are conventionally made adjustable in size for adjustment to the head of the wearer. The points where the adjustment means are fastened to the headband generally are uncomfortable to the wearer, particularly after long periods of wearing the safety helmet. Further, the means for fastening the conventional adjustable headbands within the helmet shell are relatively complex and expensive, particularly where they are designed for maximum load absorbing capability.

Hence, the object of this invention is to provide a headband for safety helmets, which headband of of a single size and which is formed of a thick resilient strip which is clamped within the helmet shell, for removal and replacement with a headband of a different thickness for thus adjusting the size of the helmet, and which headband requires no additional suspension cradles or supports and which itself functions as a load absorbing medium.

A further object of this invention is to provide a headband which is resiliently clamped to the shell and which in turn clamps to the shell the edge of a floating liner similar to that shown in U.S. Patent No. 3,116,490, issued January 7, 1964.

These and other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent upon reading the following description, of which the attached drawings form a part.

In these drawings:

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional elevational view of the safety helmet herein.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged, cross-sectional, fragmentary view of an edge portion taken in the direction of arrows 2-2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken in the direction of arrows 33 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the headband, per se.

The safety helmet includes an inverted, bowl-shaped, outer shell 11 formed of a hard, rigid, plastic material, such as fibrous glass reinforced resin.

The shell is provided with integral ear flap portions 12 for covering the ears and sides of the head of the wearer. The shell with integral ear flaps thus has a lower, exposed continuous edge 13.

Fixed to the interior wall of the shell, as by means of a suitable adhesive, is a thick, resilient, cushioning layer 14, having a lower edge 15 spaced considerably above the lower edge of the shell. The cushioning layer is preferably formed of a foamed plastic material, such as foamed polystyrene, which is characterized by being resilient and compressible under pressure, but having a relatively slow recovery rate under pressure to return to its original shape. The cushioning material may be similar to that disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 3,058,162, using a thickness of about one-half to three-quarters of an inch.

Within the shell and closely adjacent the layer is an inner, thin wall, bowl-shaped liner 16 having an outwardly turned lower edge flange 17 which is spaced a short distance from the shell. This liner is preferably formed of a semi-flexible, relatively stiff, material which will bend or flex only under considerable pressure, returning to its initial shape upon release of the pressure. This liner is similar to that disclosed in the above mentioned Patent No. 3,116,490. One material which has been found suitable for this liner purpose is that identified as Royalite 20 which is manufactured by United States Rubber Company and which is used in a thickness of about .030 inch. It will flex under a pressure of about 10-20 pounds applied by pressing with a human thumb.

A continuous edge bead 18 is secured to the edge 13 of the shell, this bead being formed of a rubber or rubberlike plastic material.

Adhesively secured within the integral flap portion 12 are ear protectors 19 formed of a thick, resilient sheet 20 having a thick, resilient edge padding strip 21.

The upper edge 23 of the bead 18, along with the upper edge 24 of the ear protector base sheet 20, forms a generally horizontally arranged lower shoulder spaced beneath the flange 17 of the inner liner 16 which thus, forms a generally horizontally arranged upper shoulder.

Fitted within that space is the headband 25 which is formed of a long, resilient strip of a rubber-like material 26 covered by a thin sheet of suitable cloth 27 and which normally extends inwardly of the liner. The headband (see FIG. 4) is provided with intermediate curved portions 28 to correspond to the upper edges 24 of the base sheets 20. The headband is simply pushed into the space between the flange 17 and the lower shoulder formed by the upper edges 23 and 24 of the bead and base sheet respectively and is resiliently clamped therebetween by its own resilient compression with the respective ends 29 of the headband meeting at the rear of the helmet. The headband is otherwise unconnected in any way to the helmet.

The headband, being under compression, serves to clamp the flange 17 of the liner against the lower edge 15 of the cushioning layer 15, which layer is adhesively fixed in place, and thus serves as the only means for holding the liner within the helmet.

With this construction, the thickness of the headband determines the size of the helmet, the headband being adapted to closely encircle and resiliently grasp against the head of the wearer without any additional suspension support within the helmet. Thus, for small size, a thick headband is used and for larger sizes, the first headband is manually pulled out and replaced with a thinner headband.

When an impact is applied to the helmet, the force is absorbed by the floating liner which moves relative within the shell and also flexes under suflicient impact, by the cushioning layer 14, and also by the headband, thereby distributing the force over a wide portion of the head.

This invention may be further developed within the scope of the following claims. Accordingly, the foregoing should be read as being merely illustrative of an operative embodiment of this invention and not in a strictly limited sense.

I now claim:

1. A safety helmet comprising an inverted, thin wall, substantially rigid, bowl-shaped shell having a lower edge; the entire interior wall surface of the shell, except for a continuous strip portion at said lower edge, being covered with a relatively thick layer of a resilient, cushioning material, the layer being fixed in position relative to the shell; an inner, bowl-shaped liner fitted within the shell, closely adjacent to said layer, with the lower edge of said liner being bent outwardly into a continuous flange, the flange being below and in contact with the lower edge of said layer; a continuous shoulder formed around the interior of said shell near the edge thereof, the shoulder being spaced beneath the flange; a headband formed of a thick, resilient, soft plain strip bent into a split ring and stuffed between said flange and shoulder in contact with said shell, with the headband being in contact with and compressed between said flange and shoulder, the headband normally extending further inwardly of the shell than the lower edge of the liner for resiliently grasping and thus for closely encircling the head of the wearer of the helmet, the headband thus clamping the flange against said layer for holding the liner within the shell and the flange and shoulder clamping the headband within the shell, the headband and liner being otherwise free of securement to the shell, and the headband thus being manually removable for replacement by a similar headband of a dilferent thickness for changing the size of the helmet.

2. A construction as defined in claim 1, including an edge bead secured to the lower edge of said shell and wherein at least a portion of said shoulder is formed of the upper edge of said edge head.

3. A construction as defined in claim 1 and wherein the outer edge of said flange is normally spaced a short distance inwardly of the interior wall of the shell.

4. A safety helmet comprising an inverted, rigid, bowlshaped shell; a continuous, generally horizontally arranged, upper shoulder formed on the interior wall of the shell at a distance from the lower edge of said shell; a continuous, generally horizontally arranged, lower shoulder formed on the interior wall of the shell at a distance beneath said upper shoulder; a headband formed of a thick resilient soft plain strip bent into a split ring and stuffed into the space between said shoulders, against said shell wall, with the headband being in contact with and compressed between said shoulders, the headband being otherwise free of connection to said helmet and thus being manually removable from the helmet for replacement by a similar headband of a diflerent thickness for changing the size of the helmet; the headband being adapted to closely encircle and resiliently grasp the head of a wearer of the helmet.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 936,117 10/09 Glascock 2--l8l.8 1,169,380 1/16 Cohen 132-59 1,875,143 8/32 Punton 2-3 2,802,214 8/57 Hanks 2--6 2,994,090 8/61 Ostwald 2182.1 3,116,490 1/ 64 Zbikowski 23 JORDAN FRANKLIN, Primary Examiner. 

4. SAFETY HELMET COMPRISING AN INVERTED, RIGID, BOWLSHAPED SHELL; A CONTINUOUS, GENERALLY HORIZONTALLY ARRANGED, UPPER SHOULDER FORMED ON THE INTERIOR WALL OF THE SHELL AT A DISTANCE FROM THE LOWER EDGE OF SAID SHELL; A CONTINUOUS, GENERALLY HORIZONTALLY ARRANGED, LOWER SHOULDER FORMED ON THE INTERIOR WALL OF THE SHELL AT A DISTANCE BENEATH SAID UPPER SHOULDER; A HEADBAND FORMED OF A THICK RESILIENT SOFT PLAIN STRIP BENT INTO A SPLIT RING AND STUFFED INTO THE SPACE BETWEEN SAID SHOULDERS, AGAINST SAID SHELL WALL, WITH THE HEADBAND BEING IN CONTACT WITH AND COMPRESSED BETWEEN SAID SHOULDERS, THE HEADBAND BEING OTHERWISE FREE OF CONNECTION TO SAID HELMET AND THUS BEING MANUALLY REMOVABLE FROM THE HELMET FOR REPLACEMENT BY A SIMILAR HEADBAND OF A DIFFERENT THICKNESS FOR CHANGING THE SIZE OF THE HELMET; THE HEADBAND BEING ADAPTED TO CLOSELY ENCIRCLE AND RESILIENTLY GRASP THE HEAD OF A WEARER OF THE HELMET. 